Georgia under the Russian Empire

Georgia was ruled by the Russian Empire from 1800 to 1918, when the Democratic Republic of Georgia was proclaimed during the Russian Civil War. Paul I of Russia annexed Georgia, allegedly at the request of the king of Kartli, and Georgia would become one of the southernmost provinces of the empire. During the 19th century, many internal migrants from across Russia arrived in Georgia, boosting the population to 250,240 people by 1846. Of the population, 36.7% were Georgians, 27.3% Ukrainians, 17.1% Russians, 9.2% North Caucasians, 3.2% Armenians, 2.2% Poles, 1.7% Azeris, 1.6% Lithuanians, and 1% others. 92.3% followed Orthodox Christianity, 3.8% Catholicism, and 3.1% Sunni Islam. Georgia's capital was Tiflis (Tbilisi), and it would remain under Russian rule until after World War I.